Why is it the Year of the Dog?

The lunar calendar has a 12-year cycle with a different animal each year.

The legend is that the Jade Emperor in China held a race to allocate 12 spots in the zodiac to 12 animals, and this was the order they arrived: rat, ox/buffalo, tiger, rabbit or cat (depending on whether it’s the Chinese or Vietnamese zodiac), dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

Why is New Year celebrated in February this year?

Lunar New Year usually occurs sometime between January and February. It’s on a different date each year because the calendar goes by the cycle of the moon.

This year, New Year’s Eve is on Thursday, February 15. On that night, it’s goodbye to the Year of the Rooster, and a big welcome to the Year of the Dog the next day.

Is Lunar New Year the same as Chinese New Year?

While Chinese New Year can also be called Lunar New Year, Lunar New Year does not only mean new year for Chinese people.

Meanwhile on Chinese menus, banquets feature dishes with auspicious names, such as sea moss and dried oysters (fà cài háo shì), which sounds the same as prosperity and good business (fā cái hào shì), and whole steamed fish, because fish sounds like “surplus” — may you have enough every year.

And at home, families gather to make dumplings together before the New Year’s Eve feast, considered lucky because dumplings are shaped like silver ingots, a traditional form of currency.

Paying respects to elders and ancestors

At its heart, Lunar New Year is a family reunion. Paying respects to elders can take many forms, from bowing to parents and grandparents to making sure they get the first piece of roast duck at dinner.

For many people, it might be the one time of year where they visit a temple to pay respects to ancestors by lighting incense sticks and making offerings, and praying to deities.

It’s all part of ensuring a good start to the year for everyone, and putting the old year aside for a new beginning.